Truly with the death of the Shaykh we have lost the last of the great giants of our era…and Allah does not remove knowledge from the chests of men, but rather through the death of scholars.

I had the honor of meeting the Shaykh many times, in Madinah and in Riyadh (and even in his house) and even rode with him once from his house to a lecture he was delivering in Riyadh, asking questions along the way. I was blessed to attend an intensive seminar in Madinah in which he taught the ‘Four Principles of Shirk’, and it was that lesson with him that inspired me to translate the work into English and publish it.

Truly a humble man, a learned scholar, an ascetic, and a giant amongst scholars. May Allah grant him Paradise and bless us with scholars to take his place…

Yasir

My own experience with the Shaykh occured in 2003, when we invited him for a live video conference for the Texas Dawah Convention. It’s a long story, but I’ll summarize it here:

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When word of Shaykh’s invitation spread, one Saudi dissident with an axe to grind with the Saudi govt (he’s Shia), spread lies about the Shaykh (in that Ibn Jibreen supported OBL), resulting in an article in a well-known paper in America. Our PR arm (what little we had of it), spun into action to neutralize the lies. Shaykh Ibn Jibreen faxed us hand-written notes voicing his strong dissent against 9/11 and terrorism. Long story short, Shaykh Ibn Jibreen did indeed speak to us on live video, with FOX News taping every bit of it. And remarkably, FOX could only report a positive news story for us, with the Shaykh’s message full of peace and kindness.

Islamtoday’s English translation as provided by Google can be found here. Following is the article from Saudi Gazette:

RIYADH/JEDDAH/BISHA – , one of the Kingdom’s senior Ulema and a former member in the Ifta Permanent Committee, died Monday at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh after prolonged illness.
Funeral prayers will be performed Tuesday noon at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.

Sheikh Jibreen, 78, was initially treated in Germany upon directives from King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. He returned to complete the treatment in the Kingdom.

One of the sheikh’s companions at the hospital said his heart stopped on Sunday but revived after electric shocks. There was no response when the heart stopped again on Monday, he said, noting the sheikh experienced a relapse last week and his condition deteriorated after an artery surgery. He added that the deceased also suffered complications of lung inflammation.

Several Ulema and thinkers expressed sorrow on the death of Sheikh Al-Jibreen and prayed to Allah to bestow His mercy on him and grant patience to his family members, relatives, students and the Muslim Ummah.

Dr. Muhammad Bin Saad Al-Shuwai’er, Adviser to the Kingdom’s Grand Mufti, said the Muslim Ummah owes Sheikh Al-Jibreen a right – that is, to pray that Allah bestow His mercy on him.
Sheikh Ali Abbas Al-Hakami, member of the Board of Senior Ulema, said Sheikh Al-Jibreen contributed greatly in explaining the rules of the Shariah.

“His death is a great loss for Islam,” he said urging all Muslims to pray for his soul.

Dr. Saad Mattar Al-Otaibi, Professor of Shariah Policy at the Higher Institute for the Judiciary and one of the students of Sheikh Al-Jibreen, said the late scholar used to move from place to place to spread his knowledge to others. He added that once he tried to calculate the number of lessons the late sheikh used to give. They reached about 45 lessons in a month. He was known for being ascetic (observing Zuhd) and refraining from worldly appearances. He was one of the authorities of the Shariah sciences, and had vast knowledge.

Dr. Mahmood Zaini, member of the teaching staff of Umm Al-Qura University, said the death of Sheikh Al-Jibreen is a tragedy for the Muslim Ummah and religious scholars in the Shariah. He prayed to Allah to bestow His mercy on him and make paradise his abode.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Jibreen was born in 1933 in one of the villages of Al-Quwai’iah. He grew up in Ar-Reen town and started his education in 1940. He started memorizing the Holy Qur’an with the help of his father and completed the memorization through Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Shithri. He also memorized several religious references. He used to attend lessons by senior Ulema on studying books on the Shariah, literature and history.

He got his secondary school certificate in 1958, a bachelors degree in Shariah in 1961, masters degree in 1970 from the Higher Institute for the Judiciary, and a doctorate with excellent grade and honors in 1987. Several judges, teachers and religious callers were taught by him.

He accompanied the late Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Baz in most of his lessons in the Grand Mosque and used to give sermons and lead prayers on his behalf at times. – Okaz/SG
– Na’eem Al-Hakeem, Abdullah Al-Dani and Muhammad Aal Mashout contributed to this report

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon. How sad is the death of a scholar!

May Allah ta’ala envelop him in His Mercy, forgive his shortcomings and enter him into Firdaws Al ‘Alaa. Ameen.

‘Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. al-‘As reported Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people but He takes away knowledge by taking away the scholars, so that when He leaves no learned person, people turn to ignorant as their leaders; then they are asked to deliver religious verdicts and they deliver them without knowledge, they go astray, and lead others astray. (Sahih Muslim)

Truly with the death of the Shaykh we have lost the last of the great giants of our era…and Allah does not remove knowledge from the chests of men, but rather through the death of scholars.

I had the honor of meeting the Shaykh many times, in Madinah and in Riyadh (and even in his house) and even rode with him once from his house to a lecture he was delivering in Riyadh, asking questions along the way. I was blessed to attend an intensive seminar in Madinah in which he taught the ‘Four Principles of Shirk’, and it was that lesson with him that inspired me to translate the work into English and publish it.

Truly a humble man, a learned scholar, an ascetic, and a giant amongst scholars. May Allah grant him Paradise and bless us with scholars to take his place…

inna lillah wa inna ilayhi raji’oon. br. Amad, perhaps you might put Sh. Yasir’s comment as an intro to the post made as it doesn’t tell us very much about the shaykh. and perhaps some highlights of his career and character/manners so we can understand what made him such a giant of a scholar (for the benefit of those, and I daresay most of us, who are unaware of his legacy) . jazakum Allahu khayran.

I remember Shaykh Ali al Halabi (hafithahullah) told us that Sheikh Al Albani (rahmahullah) said:
“the world will know Al Albani once Al Albani has left the world” how true this is…
SubhanAllah i speak to my self before i speak to others but my beloved Brothers and Sisters how long will it take for us to wake up?
Our Masaykh are leqaving us one by one… we are getting in a more darker state.
We must all benefit from them, at least when they are Alive.

May Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala pour forth Sabr on his family and raise his ranks in the Aakhirah. Truly with the death of a scholar, a great light is extinguished. May Allah grant long life to Scholars who call to the Haqq and Bless his soul. Ameen.

May Allah subhanahu wata ala fill his grave with light, and increase our scholars in ‘ilm and hiqmah to make up for the light of the knowledge that left us with his passing. May Allah forgive him his sins and enter him into Jannat without question.

I remember sh salim al amry saying that shaykh bin baz asked shaykh jibreen to get himself a doctorate (because of how degrees hold value in modern times)… so shaykh jibreen went to his own students who were professors in madina university and wrote a thesis for his delighted students… n got the doctorate… :)

SubhanAllah, look at the humility of the Shaykh – getting a Doctorate under his own students! Truly exemplifying the ayah of the Qur’an:

And the slaves of the Most Beneficent (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild words of gentleness. [Surah Furqan, Ayah 63]

May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdaws and make him from amongst those who enter Jannah without reckoning.

it is saddening to see the Ummah loose such a scholar. :( May Allah subhanahu wa ta`ala grant him Jannat al-Ferdaus, and grant us a new generation of scholars that will illuminate the world for this Ummah.

I just returned from the Shaikh’s grave (rahmatullahi alay) where he was buried a few hours ago in the old and modest part of Riyadh. SubhanAllah, a great scholar and ascetic, his grave was no different than the thousands of surrounding graves of ordinary people, but i thought to myself the real difference is what each one took with them and how fortunate is the one who takes with him/her the actions and deeds similar to that of the prophets..May Allah ta`ala accept from him and admit him in the highest ranks

I had the fortune of meeting the shaikh personally at a brother’s wedding where he was sitting next to the groom. As we went to greet him, he would stand up and take time for each person. When it was my turn as I proceeded to kiss him, subhanAllah, I saw beaming light of eeman emanate from his beautiful smile, something which I have never seen if the face of any other person.

The Beloved Shiakh (ra) leaves behind beneficial knowledge which I pray continues to benefit him and us all..ameen..

Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raajiʿoon. All I can think of was already stated by Shaykh Yasir Qadhi – Allaah does not take away knowledge from the people directly, but he does so by the death of the scholars. May Allaah have Mercy upon our shaykh and grant him a spacious grave filled with light, an reckoning, and the highest levels of jannaat alfirdaws.

In these times of fitnah where people are speaking without knowledge and even the knowledgeable may be parties to the misguidance of others, my understand was that Shaykh Ibn Jibreen stood for the truth despite the opposition of some of his contemporaries. May Allaah guide us all to emulate the noble characteristics of our beloved shaykh.

[…] from Allaah, and verily unto Him we shall return. Shaykh Abdullah ibn Jibreen has passed away. Muslims Matters has some additional coverage, including some kind words by Shaykh Abu ʿAmmaar Yasir Qadhi, who had […]

Sheikh Haitham Al-Haddad (hafidhahullah) from London, one of Sheikh Ibn Jibreen (rah)’s students, shares his memories of the years he spent in the company of the Sheikh. He used this week’s circle specifically to talk about the life of the Sheikh, his character and his virtues. Very touching subhanAllah.

This is why so many of our scholars of the past have stated that if you see anyone reviling the Companions, may Allāh be pleased with them, then be weary of him, for he is seeking the destruction of Islām.